London: Bizarre it may appear, but a new study says that acne has become a skin problem particularly for those women who are successful.

Dermatologists at Nantes University Hospital claim that acne now affects women from their mid-twenties -- around half of them have problems with spots in adult life even if they never had spots as teenagers.

One theory is that women are under more stress than previous generations and stress releases male hormones, which trigger more oil production and block pores.

The dermatologists found adult acne was different to the teenage version. Adolescents tend to get them around the "T-zone" of the chin, nose and forehead, women past their mid-twenties get more persistent spots which are deeper under the skin, a daily reported.

Women are up to three times more likely to suffer from acne than men, which might be because their skin is more sensitive to male hormones.

Dr Susannah Baron, of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, said: "It's time to re-evaluate who we think gets acne. It's not recognised enough how much it affects the lives of adult women. For many, it kicks in later in life when they have to juggle families and careers at the same time."